Lily Evans was a strong believer in new beginnings. This was what she kept repeating in her head as she approached King's Cross Station with her family. New beginnings were important, necessary, and the first step to a new you. At least, that's what the advice column in Witch Weekly told her. Witch Weekly also told her to keep a level head in possibly hostile situations, and be open to conversation instead of shouting matches. This was exactly why she drank four mugs of hot green tea that morning.
"Lily?" Her mom's voice shook her from her thoughts.
"Yes Mum?" Lily turned around where her parents and sister stood patiently waiting to hear her goodbye.
"Your father and I were asking if you planned on coming home for your last Christmas at Hogwarts. We wouldn't blame you for wanting to stay," Mrs. Evans looked to Lily expectantly and Lily could tell that her parents wouldn't blame her for wanting to stay, but that doesn't mean they would be pleased with missing their daughter on her favorite holiday.
"I wouldn't miss your Christmas pudding for the world," Lily leaned forward and clasped her mother first in a hug, then her father, and settled on softly rubbing Petunia's shoulder before she jerked it away.
"Let me take that for you Lils," Mr Evans reached forward and grabbed the handle of his daughters heavy trunk and began to pull it to the other end of the train to be loaded in the back. "I'll see you at Christmas my love!" He called behind him as he walked away.
"Bye Dad!" She shouted after him. "Bye Mum, bye 'Tunia" She said a touch softer as she boarded the train for her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Her new beginning began sooner than she would imagine. The first face she saw when she got on the train was James Potter, the exact reason Lily drank four mugs of green tea that morning. Her whole summer had been spent thinking about him, but not in the way most girls thought about this dark haired troublemaker. James Potter had all but ruined her life, and she was not ready to let him do it again. Her heart fluttered in her chest as she ran through all the things she wanted to say to him. How he ruined any chance of her even thinking about dating him, and how just because she isn't friends with Severus anymore, that doesn't mean he has free reign to ruin his life again, and most importantly, just because Potter decided to be an enormous prat, she was not going to stop being friends with all of his friends to make things less awkward again. While Lily was busy processing all of the things she would be shouting at James, he noticed her standing at the entrance of the train and began fidgeting nervously with his maroon and gold tie. He rushed to the door and threw it open when she walked past.
"Evans, can we talk?" He asked desperately, his eyes wild with something- she couldn't tell what. She nodded and followed him inside. Her jaw was solid in place and her vocal chords set for a shouting match, but she wasn't prepared for what came.
"Evans, I am so sorry. You truly have no idea. I was such a git and I know I hurt you. I really don't know what came over me, I should've never started that fight because then Sniv- Snape called you that terrible name and-" He rambled on apology after apology but Lily stopped listening after the first few. She had gotten lost in Potter's eyes, had they always had those gorgeous flecks of gold in them? And they way he spoke to her just filled her up with so much warmth and giddiness. As he continued to speak without being heard, she became mesmerised by the way his mouth shaped the words and the way his bottom row of teeth was slightly crooked despite what she knew to be numerous charms to straighten them. His lips were slightly chapped, but still very full and- was she seriously thinking about kissing him? Lily mentally slapped herself. Her whole summer she had done nothing but think about her utter hate for this boy- this child- and as soon as she sees him again she turns into one of his adoring fans? Something was clearly wrong, perhaps hormones of some sort, and she made a mental note to make a visit to the hospital wing once the feast was over. As Lily was distracted once again by her own thoughts, those lips stopped moving and his golden-brown eyes grew questioning.
"Lily are you okay?" He asked. She shook her head slightly, and came back to her senses.
Lily cleared her throat and looked down at her feet. "It's okay Potter. Let's just not make this awkward for our other friends." He nodded and awkwardly rubbed his right shoulder. He caught a glance of something behind Lily and he stiffened, his eyes widening. There was a rap on the door and Lily slowly turned around to find the other exact person she wasn't hoping to meet so soon.
"What do you want, Severus?" Lily questioned stiffly, speaking through a crack in the door.
"I'd like to speak to you alone," he muttered loud enough for only her to hear. His eyes darted between the redhead and her dark haired companion nervously.
"Now isn't a good time, Sev," she said matter-of-factly. "In fact, if you would be so kind as to move, I have some friends I am going to meet down the hall." She turned around to not at James and then pushed haughtily past Snape, holding back the beginning of her tears. She harshly wiped them away, angry that as soon as her year truly began, she was already back in the same rut her last one ended in. James quickly followed suit. His long strides caught him up and he struggled with what to say while they walked alongside each other in the narrow hall.
"You don't have to stay with me," she said thickly.
"I know," James replied. "I just wanted to say- You don't have to cut him off like that. I know you two were best mates, you deserve some kind of closure." Lily nodded in agreement. "See you 'round, I guess." James quickened his pace and was gone in a matter of moments, leaving Lily to her thoughts.
'What is wrong with me?' Her mind kept repeating. Not only forgiving James but getting lost in his eyes? And he seemed so different. Kind, even considerate. This was absolutely not the James Potter she left behind in her sixth year. Not one to trust what she sees at first glance, Lily decided that she was taking this situation with extreme caution. And she was most definitely not falling for James Potter.
-"Where's Sirius?" Remus Lupin felt as if he asked this question all too often. His mischievous friend was always missing and when he was found, it was in the most unappealing of situations. Nevertheless, Sirius was bound to be missing within the next few days.
"He was supposed to be here wasn't he?" Alice replied, taking a seat by the window of carriage 132. Her best friend took a seat next to her, his long legs stretching to the bench across from them and feet resting on the faded cushion.
"Who knows, Al, Sirius had never been our most stable friend," Remus mumbled, reaching into Alice's purse in search of sweets. He found a licorice wand and took a bite of it before even asking the owner.
"You know, one day I'm going to actually be mad at you for doing that," Alice huffed, crossing her arms in mock aggression.
"Oh shut up, you know you love me." The two laughed and Alice leaned her head on Remus' arm, not quite being tall enough to reach his shoulder. They enjoyed the silence, both exhausted from a morning of running around King's Cross in search of coffee, which Alice had insisted on. Their moment of peace was interrupted by shouting in the hallway, which sounded suspiciously like the boy they were looking for a short time earlier.
"Is that-?"
"Sirius," Remus leapt from his seat and pulled the sliding door open, running into the hallway before Alice could follow.
-Growing up, Peter had always been the smallest. Now, as he approached the train on platform Nine and Three-Quarters, he felt larger than life. With a bag of gold in his left hand from his summer job, and a crumpled letter from his mom in his right, Peter Pettigrew felt that he could take on the world. Of course, it helped that he had sprouted up 6 inches over the summer.
"Last call for boarding!" shouted the conductor from his seat near the door. "What is it boy, on or off?" The man waved an arm as an indicator for Peter to board the train.
Soon after stepping off the platform, the sandy haired boy was tackled to the ground of the corridor. Galleons were scattered around the two as Kat and Peter embraced. After a few moments, the owner of the Galleons scrambled to pick them up in the event that a greedy student would snatch them first.
"Pete, I've missed you so much! How come you didn't write at all?" Kat wove her arm around Peter's waist in a permanent hug as they walked past the crowded train cars.
"Merlin, I'm so sorry Katie, I really do feel bad," Peter slung an arm around Kat's shoulders. "My mom placed me in a summer internship at the Prophet. Between that and stocking shelves at Ollivanders I barely had time to breathe. I've missed you all a ton! How've you been?"
"Well, that's a long story. I'll catch you up," the two continued their walk down the corridor, until a small explosion startled them, and they watched third years flood out of a smoke filled carriage. Peter shook his head and kept walking, pulling a reluctant Kat behind him.
"Peter I think we might want to stay back. Who knows what on Earth that smoke is," Kat shuddered at the prospect, recalling many pranks she'd pulled in the past.
"C'mon Katie," Peter chided. "This is rule number one of being a marauder. If something explodes-"
"Just keep walking," she finished. The two nearly collapsed into giggles, and Kat leant her head on Peter's arm for support. "Merlin you really have grown. What had your mum been feeding you?"
"I actually have a theory she's been slipping growth potions into my pumpkin juice every morning," Peter answered. "Mum always said-"
Peter's story was interrupted by Sirius shouting for Kat down the hallway.
"What does he want now?" Kat grumbled. She waved a hand at him, squeezed Peter's arm a final time, and jogged away.
Sirius had never been a fan of confrontation, despite his parents' beliefs. He could shout for days, sure, but given the option between a massive row and a quiet settlement he would choose the settlement any time. Approaching Kat, however, he knew that this was not going to be a quiet settlement. He couldn't live with himself though, and he had been fighting an internal battle ever since he received his Hogwarts class letter in July. He watched Kat's smile broaden as Peter cracked a joke and her contagious laugh echoed through the train. Sirius felt a pang of despair as he prepared himself for what came next. He shouted his girlfriend's name and quickly Kat looked forward and noticed her boyfriend walking toward
her, and waved a hand high above her head. When they met, he leaned in for a kiss but she awkwardly turned away, obviously still bitter about their row earlier.
"Come to apologize?" Kat quipped.
"Yeah," Sirius replied begrudgingly. "And I have something to tell you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into an empty train car, sliding the door shut behind them. Sirius felt Peter's eyes burning into the back of his head, and knew he wouldn't leave without knowing that both his friends were happy.
"Katie let's leave," he blurted out, fearing if he put it off longer than the words would never come out.
"Run- run away?" Kat was in disbelief. "Like, and go where? We still have a year left of school Sirius, and I want to be an auror. I want to fight in the war, we-"
"Shh, no listen Katie," Sirius placed a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off and took a step back from him. "I want to run away to fight in the war, to do something. My uncle left me some money for a flat, we can get a flat and start actually making a difference in this damn war. I'm done with being trapped. I've been trapped all my life."
"Sirius, I'm going to Hogwarts. Once we graduate, once we have actual training then we can-" Kat pleaded with Sirius, gently holding one of his large hands in between her two small ones.
"I'm not fucking waiting until McGonogall teaches us how to turn a cat into a coaster to save people's lives," Sirius set his jaw and pulled his hand away. "I'm leaving if you're coming with me or not."
Tears threatened to fill Kat's eyes.
"Sirius, I love you. Please don't leave me," An angry sob rested at the bottom of her throat.
"Do you think I don't love you? Katie you mean the world to me-" Sirius's tone softened a touch.
"If you love me then why are you leaving?" Kat shouted, hands shaking. "If I'm your world you shouldn't have to go anywhere else to be happy because I should be enough Sirius. Why do you feel the need to put your life at risk fighting in some stupid war? You have no experience, you'll die out there."
"Good," Sirius replied, louder than her. " Let me die."
"How dare you Sirius Black. You have so many people here who love you, and you're going to throw it all away just like that. How dare you. You never cared about any of us."
"Maybe I didn't then," Kat stepped back at his words, feeling a physical blow. There was a large pause, full of seething anger emanating off the pair. Sirius began to take it back, an apology forming in his mouth and filling his throat. Suddenly he couldn't breathe, his lungs wouldn't work, his heart sped up at the lack of oxygen. He couldn't speak, couldn't say the apology that might've prevented what came next.
"We're over Sirius. I've had enough," Kat sounded as if she was under water. He shook his head, finally taking a deep breath and coughing a few times to clear his throat. "You hear me? I don't care if you stay or go. Just leave me alone." Sirius nodded numbly, processing what had just happened so suddenly.
"Goodbye Katherine," Sirius didn't give Kat the luxury of eye contact as he shoved his way past her and then Peter outside the train car. He ignored Pete's shouts asking where he was going, and muttered some lame excuse to the train conductor in order to let him off. There weren't many parents left on the station, and none cared enough to wonder why a somber looking student walked off the train and didn't look back. No one bothered to look, and no one bothered to ask. And that's the way it would continue to be.
-AN: So this is the rewrite of chapter 2! As I said in the last chapter, all the changes are thanks to my wonderful beta reader. I did change quite a lot in this chapter, so I hope anyone who read the story previously goes back and reads it! I will be uploading chapter 3 veerrryy soon, because it is done! So keep an eye out over the next few days or so, and then chapter 4 soon after because I'm getting my wisdom teeth out and will have plenty of time to write! Remember, a review a day keeps You-Know-Who away! Ciao! ~Sarah